Coach Gretzinger discusses the outlook of the 2016 volleyball season and her eight returning varsity players with experience:

“We are looking forward to another competitive season this year. The girls have been working very hard in the offseason and spending a lot of time playing the sport. Between summer league, open gym, contact days and a recent summer camp held at the high school, the girls have taken advantage of multiple opportunities to play the game and work on skills.

“Even though we have the lowest number of athletes I have seen in my past two years as coach, the talent, heart and drive of the returning players and incoming freshman have only improved.

“All three of our junior varsity teams show a lot of promise this year as well. Coaches Jesse Knetter, Lori Novak and Chelsea Filbrandt are also looking forward to working on more volleyball knowledge, skills, and strategies with their athletes this season in addition to the fundamentals.

“Last year, the Great Northern Conference was extremely competitive. At one point, we had a three or four way tie for first place. This made each match up more exciting and made all teams work harder. We made it to the conference championship match and lost in the fifth game 15-13 to receive second place in conference. I can still feel how close we were to a championship last year, and I bet the returning players can too.

“I expect the conference to be as competitive as it was last year or perhaps even more so.

“Thirteen players are a lot to carry at this point in the season, but it will only bring competition to every practice and it will push the girls to be their best at all times. If we want a conference championship bad enough, this is the group that will work each other hard enough to get it.

“This year’s varsity squad has a lot of talent, character, and a team mentality that can make them very successful on the court. They are also full of enthusiasm and have a team spirit that is always fun to see as a coach.

“We will be striving to stay mentally tough and scrappy again this season. If we can control the ball, or even react confidently when the ball isn’t in control, we will be a force to be reckoned with both on offense and defense.

“This year, our Antigo volleyball motto is to go ‘All Out, All Game, All Season,’ which is just what we plan to do.”

The Antigo volleyball team has a number of special nights planned for the 2016 season including: Youth Night on Sep. 8 against Rhinelander, where the team will be honoring youth volleyball players; Parent’s Night on Sep. 20 against Tomahawk; “Dig Pink” event on Oct. 4 against Mosinee where everyone is invited to join together to raise breast cancer awareness and funds for the local Volm Cancer Center; and Senior Night on Oct. 11 against Northland Pines.